Tensions Rising
by melaniesteps
Summary: (Offers choices that readers decide, Clementine's POV) Clementine and AJ have settled into Wellington, but it's not as safe as Clementine thought. With attacks on Wellington becoming more fatal, Clementine must find the traitor in Wellington before it's too late. (Read 'A New Beginning' first)
1. Chapter 1

This is Episode 2, the second part to my version of season 3. If you're interested in this story, please make sure you read my first episode 'A New Beginning'. This story offers choices like in the game. I apologize in advance about the choices since sometimes I write and post a part, but reviews show up later so I don't always see all of them. But, please give this story a follow and favorite if you enjoy it! First part comes out in a few days!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(Clementine's POV)

The next day

I scooped another spoonful of cereal in and brought it to my mouth. The door opened just then and Malcolm and Kyle walked into the kitchen. Kyle lazily flopped onto the couch as Malcolm went to the fridge.

"Hey Clem," he smiled.

"Hey," I said back after swallowing my food. "Where have you guys been?"

"Work," Kyle yelled from the couch.

"We had to patrol all night and early morning since the other groups had to clean up the damage and help the medics get people," Malcolm added.

"How much damage was there?" I asked curiously.

"Not super bad. A few shops damaged," Malcolm answered. "but thirteen people were injured, and five dead."

"Where's Faith?" Kyle asked.

"Still asleep. Her and I figured out there's a traitor in Wellington."

"Oh, I know," Malcolm said, pouring a cup of coffee. "The mayor didn't say anything about it, but it's obvious. Wellington doesn't allow citizens to possess anything other than a handgun as far as weapons go. And don't worry, it's not me. I'm never anywhere near the armory and I'd never do that."

"How do we figure out who it is?" Kyle asked.

"Well, teams 1, 3, 8, and 10 have shifts guarding the armory, so one of their senior officers went in while their guards were on duty. Their guards are probably working with the Storm as well," Malcolm answered, taking a sip of coffee.

"Maybe two teams are with the Storm even," Kyle mumbled.

"We have to assume all four are dirty. Team 2 and 5 are for sure solid. Dave and Mikha wouldn't do this."

"And 9," I said, including Lily's team. Malcolm looked at me in a confused way. "I know the senior officer from a long time ago. She wouldn't do this, especially now that she knows I'm here. She wouldn't endanger me."

"Good point..." Malcolm said slowly. "Henry from team 8 has three kids of his own. No way in hell would he do this to Wellington."

"That leaves 1, 3, and 10," Kyle said, standing up from the couch and coming into the kitchen.

"I'm gonna tell Dave, Mikha, and Lily all about this. Me and Dave already talked about having each other's backs in case anything happened, and Mikha is great too. And Clem, you said Lily is trustworthy?" I nodded. "Ok. Kyle, make sure to keep good relations with teams 2, 5, and 9 and their guards. Clem, do you know Leo? He's about your age."

"Yeah, actually. He's in my gun class."

"He's a housemate with Andy, who's in team 10. I don't trust Andy and if his senior officer is the traitor, I could see him helping. Ask Leo about him every once in a while."

"Ok..." I said slowly, remembering how unhappy Leo was with me.

"Schools are closed today and lockdown ends in an hour. What's your plan for today?" Malcolm asked after another sip of coffee.

"I'm thinking of looking for work" (A)

"Maybe shopping" (B)

"Probably going to Leo's house" (C)

"No idea" (D)

Also, I need some more OCs! Fill out the template below and I'll fit your person in! They won't show up right away and may not be here this episode depending on how many I get. But, be patient and your character will appear!

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Job In Wellington:

(Choices for 18 and up - Guard/Runner with team#, Farmer, Gardener, Builder, Teacher, Babysitter at daycare, Shopkeeper, Cyclist, Blacksmith, Stocker, Medic, Doctor, Vet

Choices for 18 and below - Supply runner, farmhand, guard in training)

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Basic traits/info (ex: nice, funny, height/weight, etc):

Little bit of background:


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I know I haven't posted in forever but I'm getting back to writing this! Fill out the OC template in chapter 2 and I'll try to include everyone's! If I don't include yours right away, don't worry! I'll get to everyone's! Enjoy the story and leave a favorite, follow, and/or review!

(Clementine's POV)

-1 hour later-

I walked over to 310, which was Leo's house. The only roommate I knew of his was Andy, the rude and untrustworthy guard from 10. Malcolm said teams 1, 3, and 10 are most likely behind the Wellington attacks, while 2, 4, 5, 8, and 9 are in the clear and trustworthy. That leaves 6 and 7 in the middle. I knocked on Leo's door and remembered what Malcolm told me to do. Ask him about Andy. The door swung open and, of course, there stood Andy. His eyes narrowed angrily once he recognized me.

"Can I help you?" He asked in his familiar annoyed tone.

"Is Leo there?" I asked.

"Yeah."

We stood for a few seconds in silence and I threw my palms up in confusion. "Well, can I talk to him?"

Andy angrily sighed and turned his head back inside the house. "Leo! Someone is here for you!"

Leo came from behind Andy from the hall and nodded once he saw me. "Hey Clementine," he smiled. I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he wasn't angry with me for not going to shoot outside with him. "Come on inside. Hudson and Taylor are here too." I followed Leo and subtly shot Andy a glance. He shook his head at me and went back to the chair he was previously sitting on. Leo led me to a room and I saw Hudson and Taylor sitting on the floor.

"Hey, Clem," Hudson said happily. Him and Taylor sat around a board game that looked vaguely familiar. I smiled and waved to both of them.

"Hey guys," I smiled and sat down next to Taylor.

"Now we can do boys against girls!" Taylor said, pointing to me and then pointing to herself.

"There's no teams in Monopoly, stupid," Leo joked. Taylor stuck her tongue out at Leo and I laughed.

"You're just scared that we're gonna beat you, Leo," I laughed. Taylor high-fived me.

"I like this girl," Taylor said proudly.

"Ok, no one talks to my boy like that," Hudson said seriously in a joking way. "Now it's on, ladies."

-1 hour later-

"And, you landed on Boardwalk with a hotel, so that will be $2,000, Hudson," Taylor boasted. Leo counted their money and shook his head.

"Not enough," he sighed.

"Oooh," Taylor said with pity. "And you have no more properties, so that means you have nothing to mortgage for money, and that means that you are out of the game!"

"We won!" I said happily.

"Yeah, whatever," Hudson said, waving his hand. "Monopoly is a dumb game anyway."

"You're just jealous that we won."

"Hudson gets competitive," Leo whispered to me.

"I'm not competitive!" Hudson shouted, and then laughed. The door swung open and Andy glared at all of us.

"Do you guys mind keeping it down?" He said angrily. We all looked around at each other awkwardly and held in laughter.

"Yeah," Leo said, holding in his laughter. "Sorry Andy, we'll keep it down."

Andy left the room and closed the door and we all burst out in quiet laughter.

"Is he always like that?" Hudson laughed.

"He's worse," Leo sighed.

"I witnessed that first hand when I got here," I said, and thought about what Malcolm said.

"Malcolm thinks he's a traitor." (A)

"Has he been acting suspicious lately?" (B)

"There's a traitor in Wellington." (C)

-Change the subject- (D)


	4. Chapter 4

(Clementine's POV)

"Has he been acting suspicious lately?" I asked. Leo, along with Hudson and Taylor, gave me a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Leo laughed.

"Just...has he been acting strange lately? Maybe coming home late from shifts or talking to people he usually doesn't?"

"Wait...are you asking if he's that traitor in Wellington?" Leo asked defensively.

"No, just-"

"He and his team have nothing to do with these attacks," Leo hissed. "I mean, I know Andy isn't the nicest guy, but he's no traitor. And the senior officer of 10, Hailey, is, like, the sweetest person ever. No way they are the traitors."

"Ok, sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean anything by it. Malcolm just told me to ask around. So far, he suspects 1 and 3, and 6 and 7 are also possibilities."

"I know 1 and 3 take shifts patrolling the armory," Hudson piped up. "My neighbor, Mr. Dan, is a guard for 3." Someone knocked on Leo's bedroom door and an unfamiliar woman opened it up.

"Hey sorry to interrupt, kids, but Malcolm is here to pick up Clementine," she said politely. I looked to Taylor, Hudson, and Leo.

"Bye guys. See you at school," I said and stood up.

"Bye, Clem," Hudson waved. I waved back to all of them and exited Leo's room and headed to the front door. Malcolm stood inside and smiled once he saw me.

"Sorry to end the party early but I thought you'd want to go out for lunch? I promised you a nice meal when you got here and never followed through," he said.

"Sounds good," I said happily. He opened the front door and went outside, then also held the door for me. I walked outside, shivering once I stepped out from the cold, and followed Malcolm to a small golf cart waiting outside. I got in the back and Malcolm sat in the passenger's seat.

"The Vine, Wilson," Malcolm told the driver. Wilson nodded and the golf cart rumbled to life, then lurched forward. Malcolm turned back to face me. "This place has the best pizza ever. Even before the apocalypse came. It's amazing," he laughed and I smiled back with excitement. When was the last time I had pizza? My daydream of food was interrupted when I saw three familiar people walking up ahead. One wore a purple jacket, one was African-American, and the woman had bright orange hair.

"Oh my god," I said loudly.

"What?" Malcolm asked from up front.

"I think I know those people!"

"Wilson, park right up here," Malcolm ordered the driver. The cart slowed down and pulled over in between two open-windowed shops. I quickly exited the cart and saw the three people just in front of me. Mike looked in my direction and then at me. His eyes widened with surprise and his mouth opened in disbelief.

"Clementine?!" He asked. Bonnie and Arvo looked at Mike and then at me. Once they saw me, they had the same reaction that Mike had. I took a step forward, but then stopped, remembering what they did to me.

"Clementine, what's wrong?" Malcolm asked from behind me. He looked at Mike, Bonnie, and Arvo and looked confused. "I don't recognize you three."

"They just got in," a man said, appearing from the side. "Like, literally just walked through the gate," the man laughed, pointing to the front gate.

"Mikha, are you showing them around?" Malcolm asked.

"Yeah, and-"

"Don't let them in!" I shouted angrily. Mikha arched an eyebrow in confusion and I looked up at Malcolm. "They tried to kill me."

"Woah, what?" Malcolm asked, looking at the three. He kept his eye on them when he talked to me. "When was this, Clem?"

"About a week ago."

"Ok, look," Mike said, stepping up.

"Don't move another step," Malcolm said firmly. He grabbed my arm and moved me behind him and whistled over to a few guards nearby. They came running over.

"Yes, sir?" One asked.

"We didn't try to kill her!" Bonnie said. "It was just a misunderstanding and, anyway, Arvo was the one that shot you."

"Clem," Mike said softly, careful not to move towards me. "We shouldn't have done what we did. We shouldn't have just ran away when Arvo shot you."

"Who's Arvo?" Malcolm asked. Arvo shyly raised his hand and Malcolm snapped his fingers and pointed to Arvo. Two out of the group of four guards went over to Arvo and cuffed his hands behind his back.

"No, no, no," Mike said. "He said he's sorry. Every night, he said he regretted it." Mike's voice was regretful, but the expression on Arvo's face was plain. No pleading eyes or remorseful words. Just a neutral expression that seemed more angry than sorry. The two guards still held onto Arvo and Malcolm turned to me.

"Last thing I wanna do is make you feel unsafe here," Malcolm told me and turned to Mike, Bonnie, and Arvo. "You know these people, Clem. If you want them out, we'll arrange that."

"What?" Arvo yelled in his thick accent.

"Shut up," one of the guards holding him said.

"If you trust them and believe they're sorry, then we'll let them in. It's your call, though," Malcolm said once he turned back to me. I looked from Mike, to Bonnie, to Arvo.

"We really are sorry, Clementine," Bonnie said pleadingly. I crossed my arms and decided what to do.

Decide who you want to stay. Type the names of the characters you want to STAY.

Ex: if you want only Mike to stay, you'll type "Mike" and etc

If you want only Bonnie and Arvo to stay, you'll type "Bonne/Arvo" and etc

If you want all three to stay, type "all"

If you want none of them to stay, type "none"


	5. Chapter 5

(Clementine's POV)

I looked over at Arvo's unapologetic expression as he slightly struggled against the two burly guards holding him.

"I don't feel comfortable with him staying," I said bitterly, not looking up at Malcolm, but simply kept my eyes on Arvo. He frowned and glared at me. "The other two can stay."

"Thanks, Clem," Mike smiled, as did Bonnie. Mike glanced at Arvo and frowned a little bit, almost in a pitiful way.

"Yes, thank you so much, Clementine!" Bonnie said excitedly. The two guards holding Arvo looked to Malcolm with their eyebrows raised, waiting for instructions.

"What're you waiting for?" Malcolm asked, crossing his arms. He nodded to the front gate. "You heard the girl. Get his ass outta here."

"Really, he's not a bad guy," Mike said, stepping over towards Arvo. Malcolm pushed Mike back and pointed a finger dangerously at him.

"You're lucky she's letting you stay," he said, pointing at me then. "If she doesn't feel safe with that guy, then he is leaving here immediately. Clementine lives in my house, which means I'm responsible if anything were to happen to her. So, if her safety of jeapordized by that guy, then he's not staying here." Malcolm looked over at Mikha. "Why don't you go take them to evaluation."

"Will do," Mikha said and walked ahead, then turned back to Bonnie and Mike. "C'mon you two, follow me."

"Thanks again so much, Clementine," Bonnie said to me. Mike nodded back at me, but then gave Arvo another sad glance. They followed Mikha towards the shooting range and I turned back towards Malcolm and Arvo and the guards. Malcolm tilted his head and looked to Arvo.

"Anything you wanna say before you go? Wanna try and convince me to let you stay?" He asked Arvo. Arvo looked back at me and then to Malcolm. Arvo looked down at the ground and Malcolm put his palms up in confusion. "Не английский язык?"

"No," Arvo said quietly. "I speak English."

"Then answer me."

"Fuck you." Arvo said and spit at Malcolm. Te glob of spit landed right on his face. I felt my heart race, scared for whatever Malcolm was about to do to Arvo. But all he did was slowly raise his arm up to his face and wiped Arvo's spit off his cheek.

"Get him out of here," Malcolm said calmly. "Give him a food supply bag."

"But," one of the guards holding Arvo protested. "sir-"

"Give him," Malcolm commanded. "a food supply bag. And then make sure he leaves over that hill. If he refuses, shoot him." Malcolm stepped up to Arvo and looked him in the eye. "If you come within sight of the front guard, you will be shot on sight, do you understand?"

"Yes," Arvo mumbled.

"Good," Malcolm said then looked to the guards. He waved them off and the guards uncuffed Arvo and led him to the front gate. Malcolm turned to me and took a deep breath. "Wanna go get some lunch now?"

"Sure," I said awkwardly. I followed Malcolm towards the restaurant, which wasn't too far since we didn't take a vehicle there. As we walked, I found myself surprised by how composed Malcolm was when Arvo blatantly disrespected him in front of his men. Kenny would lose his mind over Arvo doing nothing, and Malcolm was cool and calm when Arvo literally spit in his face. Malcolm, being a senior officer, could have done anything to Arvo, and instead he even gives him food? I really was surprised. A guard standing post outside the restaurant removed one of his hands from his rifle and opened the door for us.

"Thank you," I said politely and the guard smiled back. We walked deeper into the makeshift restaurant and I followed Malcolm to a table. We sat down and were both handed a menu. I opened it to see a large variety of items. "This is amazing!" I said in awe. There was all types of pizza, hamburgers, salads, sandwiches, and even some desserts. "What does that little symbol mean?" I asked Malcolm, pointing to a dot next to some foods.

"Those mean that they're not in season. Some foods aren't very common in winter since it's harder to grow certain vegetables in the winter unless you have heat. We only have 1 heated greenhouse which produces only 25% of our crops. In the winter, we eat a lot more meat than veggies," Malcolm explained, looking at his menu.

"Oh, ok," I nodded. "What do you recommend?"

"I personally get the leek soup in the winter, or just plain cheese pizza. But, you get whatever you want," Malcolm said.

Leek soup (beef, A)

Plain cheese pizza (no meat, B)

Chicken salad sandwich (chicken, C)

Hamburger (beef, D)

Caesar salad (no meat, E)


	6. Chapter 6

(Clementine's POV)

"I'll have the cheese pizza," I said after reading the menu. Malcolm nodded.

"Good choice, good choice," he smiled and looked at his own menu. "I think I'll have that also. Can't resist a good pizza." Malcolm closed his menu and waved over a waiter.

"What can I get you both?" He asked politely.

"Two cheese pizzas and," Malcolm told the waiter and looked to me. "What do you want to drink?"

"Water is fine," I said, not expecting anything else.

"Two cheese pizzas, a water, and a beer," Malcolm told the waiter.

"Coming right up," the waiter smiled and walked towards the kitchen.

"They have alcohol here?" I asked.

"Yeah," Malcolm laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Why? Lookin for some?"

"No," I laughed back. "That's just crazy how you guys have that."

"We've raided every single store or building within about a 15 mile radius," Malcolm shrugged. "You remember passing by that huge shopping center on your way here?" I nodded. Kenny and I looked inside, but it was picked clean. "There's a neighborhood behind it and all those people started Wellington."

"Were you from that neighborhood?" I asked.

"No," Malcolm said and sighed. "I'm originally from Milwaukee in Wisconsin. I was in the Navy actually back before all of this. That's mainly why they made me a senior officer."

"Are all senior officers former military?" I asked, thinking of Lily being in the Air Force.

"Not all of them," Malcolm said slowly, looking up as if he were deep in thought. "Hailey from 10 wasn't former military, and neither is Ralph from 1."

"So how'd you end up in Wellington?"

"A water," our waiter said, appearing and setting out drinks on the table. "And a beer."

"Thank you," I said.

"Thanks," Malcolm said.

"And your pizzas will be out shortly," the waiter assured. Malcolm and I nodded and the waiter walked off.

"I was visiting home from my third tour in Iraq and waited around in Wisconsin for a week or so after we got the news of the outbreak," Malcolm said. He paused, staring down at his beer, seeming to be considering something. "I, uh, lost a few people coming down when we heard about Wellington," he started again. "I got here, but I was alone when I arrived. Been here for about two years."

"Wow," I simply said. He obviously avoided the specified people he lost, but I knew better than to bring it up.

"How about you?"

"Came up from Atlanta. I was with this group for a while, but it just didn't work out," I said and Malcolm nodded.

"That guy, Lee?" Malcolm asked. "Lily told me all about him. Sounded like he was a great guy."

"He was," I said, my voice breaking a little bit. "After that group...ended, I was with another group, and that's where that baby came from."

"Gotcha," Malcolm said. We talked about our cities of origin more in depth until our food came. The waiter set down the two pizzas and the smell immediately made my mouth water. I grabbed a slice and quickly bit into it. The taste matched exactly to Malcolm's description. It was the best pizza I've ever had so far.

"Oh my god," I muttered with a mouthful of pizza.

"Right?" Malcolm laughed after finishing up his first piece.

"This is amazing!" I laughed, still having a bunch of pizza in my mouth. Malcolm smiled and took a bite of his second piece. A loud clatter of plates coming together sounded near the front and a man quickly ran out of the restaurant, leaving behind the busboy he just pushed out of the way. The busboy sighed and bent down to pick up the plates he dropped.

"Even in the apocalypse there are douchebags," Malcolm laughed, shaking his head.

-1 hour later-

"I can't believe he didn't even think of how that would sound before he said it," Malcolm laughed. I just told him the story of the raccoon with Mike and Bonnie and it really entertained him.

"That's what I was thinking!" I laughed also. I looked just past Malcolm and saw three people sitting together and eating together. Suddenly, one put her hand over her chest and looked pained. She fell back and fell into violent convulsions. "Malcolm!" I shouted and pointed to her. Malcolm turned and ran up to her as soon as he saw her. The other two with the convulsing girl also broke into rapid seizures.

"This is Kowalski!" Malcolm said frantically into his walkie talkie. "I need medical transportation ASAP from The Vine to the hospital. 3+ people convulsing." He looked up at the table and at their food, then back down at the first woman. "All ate beef, possible explanation. Please hurry with that medical transportation." Malcolm put his head down near the woman's chest and then put two of his fingers on her wrist. He turned back to me with a worried expression on his face. "Clem, either get me that defibrillator and help me or go get more people to help from outside!"

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

Help Malcolm (A)

Go get others to help (B)

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

Make sure to fill out the template to create our own Wellington citizen:

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Job In Wellington:

(Choices for 18 and up - Guard/Runner with team#, Farmer, Gardener, Builder, Teacher, Babysitter at daycare, Shopkeeper, Cyclist, Blacksmith, Stocker, Medic, Doctor, Vet - please try to make your OC not a guard unless you absolutely want to. We have a lot of OC guards and runners, but not many other ones)

Choices for 18 and below - Supply runner, farmhand, guard in training)

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Basic traits/info (ex: nice, funny, height/weight, etc

Little bit of background:

To see your OC, give the story a fav/follow and/or participate in the choices in the reviews! OCs will be showing up in either the next chapter or the next one!


	7. Chapter 7

(Malcolm's POV)

Clementine quickly ran outside and I assumed she went to get more help. I quickly cut through the woman's shirt with my knife and put it back in the holster on my leg. I began compressions on her and heard people run into the store. I looked up and saw Clementine had rounded up many people and I noticed Andy. I hated him, but now was not the time to talk about our differences. He knelt down by the women I was by while others helped the other two victims while we waited for the medics to arrive.

"Get me the defibrillator, please," I told Andy, continuing compressions on the women. Andy ran over to the wall and unhooked the defibrillator and brought it over to me. He quickly cut off the women's bra, leaving her exposed, but this was necessary for the defibrillator to work. I placed the pads on the specific spots and noticed people hovering over, staring at the women. Normally, I'd ignore them, but this woman was unconscious and half naked. I angrily glared up at them while Andy charged up the defibrillator. I looked at Andy and met his eye, then looked up at the people watching me. He understood my frustration and stood up.

"All of you, out! Now!" He shouted loudly, his booming voice echoing off the walls. They quickly scurried out and Andy looked back to me. "Charging," he said, pushing buttons on the machine. I removed my hands from the woman and saw her jerk up, knowing that the charge had just gone through her body. I felt her neck and still felt no pulse. I shook my head at Andy and he charged up the defibrillator more. Just then, I heard more people enter the room and saw their red hospital bands on their biceps. Andy and I quickly backed up to let the actual medics work.

"They started convulsing about two minutes ago," I told them to let them know the situation. One opened the mouth of the woman and turned on his flashlight to inspect it. He pursed his lips and sighed. "What?"

"Burns and sores on her throat," the medic said, clicking off his flashlight. He waved in the gurneys and helped lift her onto one. He looked back to me. "Probably from severe arsenic poisoning based on the burns and convulsions." He turned to the other medics that loaded the other two victims on. "Let's get back to the hospital." They wheeled out the three injured people and I ran my hand through my hair stressfully. Andy walked over to me and we watched the medics leave the restaurant.

"Did you recognize the guy that ran out of the restaurant?" Andy asked me, still watching the medics.

"No," I said and looked at Andy in confusion. "How did you know someone ran outta here?"

"I was outside," he said after a second of hesitation. I raised an eyebrow and rolled my eyes when Andy spoke again.

"I think the Mayor is behind all this," he said suddenly. I looked at him in surprise.

"What?" I asked. "Dave?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, wondering why he suddenly brought up a possible suspect. He's never taken any interest in the case and decided to bring it up now?

"He's been visiting the armory more and more every week since the explosive attacks started and ordering guards away. Something about 'wanting to make sure they aren't hiding anything from him'. He's deemed any guards outside his office and house 'not necessary'. And, he treated the attacks so casually. No increase in security, no areas closed off, nothing."

"That's all speculation," I mumbled, crossing my arms. Andy rolled his eyes and sighed, shaking his head as well.

"Sure, it's speculation," he said and looked at me. "But it's all pretty weird, right? I mean, wouldn't a mayor want to keep his people safe during times of attack?"

"Why the hell," I asked, my voice raising. "do you suddenly have an interest in a suspect, huh?"

"I may be an asshole, but I do care about the people here. And I really think the mayor isn't being totally honest about everything," Andy said. "Look," Andy sighed. "I know we were never close, but I trust you, Malcolm. You seem trustworthy. I need your help proving it was the mayor." Andy patted my shoulder, then walked out of the restaurant.

-2 hours later-

"Leo said Andy would never do that, though," Clementine said.

"It's just weird that he suddenly came up with a suspect, isn't it?" I asked. Clem just shrugged. A loud knock came from the front door and I walked to it and opened it. The mayor and his two familiar guards stood by him. I recognized them both. Both of them were guards from 10.

"Hello, Malcolm," the mayor said. He turned to his two guards. "You can both wait out here."

"Yes, sir," one of the guards said. I opened the door wider for the mayor to come in and he entered, wiping his snowy boots on the rug before stepping into the kitchen. Clementine still sat at the table and I looked to her.

"Clem? Do you mind going upstairs while me and Mr. Spiewak talk?" I asked her.

"Ok," she said politely and ran up the stairs. I looked back to the mayor and went into the kitchen to grab a drink.

"Would you like anything to drink, sir?"

"No, thank you," the mayor said. I grabbed a water and sat down at the kitchen table, across from the mayor. "Any leads on the traitor yet?"

"No," I lied, not wanting the mayor to go after Andy if he knew Andy thought it was him.

"Well, I need you to investigate one. Team 10. More specifically, Andy Hawkins."

"Andy?" I asked in surprise. The mayor laughed.

"Yes? Why is that such a surprise?"

"Just..." I said slowly. "He thought you were behind them. Attacking Wellington."

"What?" The mayor shouted angrily. "Oh, that idiot. He's just angry I shortened his paycheck. Looking for any reason to get me back. Well, he's wrong. I'm not behind these attacks."

"Well," I said, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. "Why do you think Andy is behind them?"

"The man running right out of The Vine was caught and admitted to poisoning the food. It was Brady Hawkins, Andy's brother. The two are thick as thieves." I had a quick moment of confusion as I remembered Andy said he and his brother got into a fight about four days ago. It was physical and they haven't spoken since. "Also, he has been requesting more shifts by the armory," the mayor said, interrupting my train of thought. "Not to mention he's an asshole!" I pushed that reason aside since it wasn't a real reason. "I need your help proving it was him."

I thought about what Andy said, how the mayor has been removing guards from his house and making his own two guards waiting outside. But, they were from 10 and he suspects 10 is behind the attacks. Or did he make them wait out there because he didn't want them to hear his accusations towards one of their fellow guards? "You are the best senior officer I got, Malcolm. I really need your help here."

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

"I'll prove it was Andy, sir" (Side with mayor, A)

"I'll help you out, sir" (LIE, side with Andy, B)


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys so I haven't posted in a while since I only have 2 votes for the most recent choice. This choice will 100% affect this story in multiple big ways but I can't have a tie. Please check the previous chapter and vote! Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9

(Malcolm's POV)

I thought about what Andy said; about the mayor. Him and I never got along well and he never asked for favors or help. And now, he asks me to help with his theory about proving it was the mayor that is behind the attacks in Wellington. Maybe it seemed off, but my gut instinct told me that the traitor wasn't Andy, but instead the mayor.

"I'll help you out, sir," I lied to my boss. He smiled and nodded. He believed me.

"Good," he said. He pulled out his journal and jotted down a note that read "find evidence on Andy". He stood up and I stood as well and followed him to the door. "Start by following Andy on his patrols and see if he goes to the armory. Keep an eye on just him. He's most-likely the leader of these attacks and all of your attention must be focused on him in order to prove this." I nodded and opened the door for the mayor. "I'm counting on you," he said as he left. His two guards followed him back to the golf cart they rode in and they drove off. I shut the door and saw Clementine sitting on top of the steps.

"Didn't I tell you to be upstairs?" I asked.

"I am upstairs."

I laughed and raised an eyebrow. "You know what I mean."

"Why are you helping the mayor? Leo says Andy didn't do it," she said with a hint of betrayal.

"I'm not," I said, walking into the kitchen. I heard her come down the steps and into the kitchen. "I lied to him so he wouldn't arrest me for treason. I...as hard as it for me to admit...I believe Andy." I looked to Clementine with a firm stare. "You do not tell anyone that I'm investigating the mayor, you understand?" She nodded. "Because then he knows I'll be onto him and either arrest me or raise even more attacks."

"What I don't get," Clementine said, sitting at the table. "is why the mayor would even stage attacks on Wellington in the first place."

I poured myself a glass of water and thought about what Clementine said. "Maybe he's almost being forced to help the Storm. Maybe they're threatening his own life and he's being a selfish leader. Or maybe he really thinks the Storm should have Wellington." I took a sip of water and shrugged. "I'm not sure as to why yet. I just need to find some kind of evidence and I don't even know where to start."

"Well, lucky for you, you have an 11 year old girl who could, if the time came, hide in a small place," she said. I gave her a confused look and she kept talking. "It's good that I can hide in a small place so if the mayor comes into his office when I'm in there-"

"Woah, what?" I asked quickly, interrupting her.

"I could sneak into the mayor's office and see if there's anything in there," she said with a hint of pride and eagerness.

"No, nu-uh, no way," I shook my head.

"Please Malcolm? I really could help, you know. And if he came back into his office when I was there, then I'd just hide!"

"Clem, I can't have you in the mayor's office. If you get caught-"

"But I won't get caught, I promise!" The eagerness in her voice intensified. "Please just let me help."

I looked at her and her size. I've been in the mayor's office once before and remember cupboards and even a small vent Clementine could probably fit into. If I know anything about this mayor, is that he can't get something done without writing it down. He has some memory problems due to an accident even before the apocalypse. If he is the traitor, he's bound to have something written down about it on or in his office desk. On the other hand, if Clementine were to get caught, she'd for sure be arrested and most likely kicked out of Wellington. The baby would go with her as well, and I know they wouldn't survive long out there on their own. Was she worth the risk?

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

"Ok. You'll go into the mayor's office" (A)

"No means no. You're not going in there" (B)


	10. Chapter 10

(Clementine's POV)

Malcolm looked down at the floor, seemingly deep in thought. He sighed and looked back up at me, making direct eye contact with me in a serious manner.

"Ok," he said quietly. "You'll go into the mayor's office."

"Thank you for letting me help, Malcolm!" I said excitedly, standing up. He shook his head and pointed back to the seat. I slowly sat back down and he sat in the seat next to me.

"You listen to me and you listen carefully," he said in a serious tone. I only heard him talk like this once before when he confronted Mike, Bonnie, and Arvo. I knew it was important I pay attention. "You'll go tomorrow. Tomorrow is a Friday, so after school, you'll come here before you go to his office. I'll distract him and keep him out of his office tomorrow. When you get in there, look on or in the drawers of his desk for any note that talks about him betraying Wellington. If he is the traitor, it will be written down somewhere." I nodded, remembering the instructions he was telling me. "If you hear anything, and I mean anything, that sounds like someone is coming, you either hide in the cupboard or in the vent behind his desk. After you check his office, come back to the house and don't be later than 6:30 or I'll assume something happened to you, ok?"

"Got it," I said seriously. Malcolm nodded and spoke again.

"His office is in the north-most corner of Wellington. There are usually a few guards posted outside, but on Fridays, they're my guards, so I'll make up some excuse for them not to be there when you enter his office and when you leave."

"Ok," I said again. Malcolm stood up from his chair and went into the pantry, coming out with a box of ramen.

"Hungry?" He asked, his voice a little shaky.

-The next day-

I nervously walked into hand-to-hand class, thinking about the mission I was on for later in the day. I've been here less than a week and I'm already going to be getting into trouble. I sat down next to Hudson, Taylor, and Leo and Hudson glanced at me.

"You ok?" He asked. I looked to him and nodded.

"Yeah...why?"

"You look pale. Like you've seen a ghost or something," he laughed. I laughed back nervously and faced forward as the teacher walked in.

"Good morning, class," one said, taking off his jacket and putting it on a chair.

"Good morning, Mr. Ewen," the class responded in unison. This was my first time in hand-to-hand, so I didn't know the teacher's name.

"Today seems like a good day for a pop-quiz," he said happily. The class groaned in mock agony and I looked to Hudson.

"I don't know anything about hand-to-hand!" I whispered frantically. Hudson just shrugged and I heard Mr. Ewen talk again.

"Please keep your eyes on your own paper. It's not hard and is just a pointer to see where you're all at with hand-to-hand," he said as he passed out papers. He put a paper on my desk but looked at me with a confused glance. "I don't recognize you. Are you...?" He asked, seeming to have forgotten my name.

"Clementine," I said, reminding him.

"Yes," he nodded, remembering. "Clementine. Will you be ok to take this?"

"Yeah, I'll take it."

"Confidence," he smiled. "I like that." He continued passing out papers as I looked at the quiz. I circled the answers that seemed to make the most sense. It really wasn't that hard, but I don't think I got a perfect score. The rest of the day felt quick and was a blur, since all I could really think about was sneaking into the mayor's office. After about five hours of different classes, the bell signaling school ended for the day sounded and I followed the herd of young survivalists outside. I quickly went to the house and unlocked the door with my key. I went into the kitchen and saw Malcolm sitting at the table, facing a sophisticated looking man. Two guards with guns around their shoulders stood around as well.

"Sir, this is Clementine," Malcolm said, looking at me. The unfamiliar man, who I figured was the mayor, smiled at me.

"Hello," he said politely.

"Hello," I politely said back. "Nice to meet you."

"And you as well," he smiled, then faced Malcolm again.

"Aren't you supposed to be at your friend's house? Mike's?" Malcolm asked, looking at me. I figured this was my cue to go to the mayor's office and I nodded, playing along. It was odd, though. I didn't have any friends from school named Mike.

"I was just coming to grab another jacket. It's cold out there," I lied. Malcolm nodded.

"Well, have fun, Clem," he said easily and looked back to the mayor. I ran upstairs, pretending to get another coat which I really didn't even have, and quickly exited the house. I headed north and saw a relatively large building with only one guard in front of it. He stood on the roof and I recognized him. Mike. He looked down and caught my eye in the midst of all the people. He nodded slightly at me and looked away. I realized he was in on this. On his arm was a blue band and blue meant Team 4, which was Malcolm's team. I walked towards the office and went around the side, going out of everyone's view. I turned the knob and found it was unlocked. Malcolm really got everything done. I opened the door and saw the office was empty.

I shut the door behind me and quickly went over to the mayor's desk. I rummaged carefully through papers and stray money, looking for any note about betraying Wellington. I opened one of the drawers and rummaged again. I picked up a small post-it and read it, but it was harmless. I did the same with almost all of them, and finally found one. It talked about getting grenades from the armory for Team 1 and Team 6 and on the bottom of it said "The Storm". I grabbed another post-it so his handwriting could be compared to make sure he actually wrote it. I headed back for the door, but heard voices just outside of it. I ran up to the window facing Wellington and saw three guards with orange bands on their arms going to the side to go to the door. I didn't know what team was Orange. Not 4, not 9, and not 10, I knew that. I ran back to his desk and looked to the cupboard and the vent.

WDWDWDWDDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

-Hide in the vent- (A)

-Hide in the cupboard- (B)


	11. Chapter 11

(Clementine's POV)

I quickly and easily removed the vent cover and squeezed in, then replaced it just as the door to the office opened.

"So..." One man said slowly. "what exactly are we looking for?"

"Mikha said some kind of evidence about the mayor," another one said, rummaging through the contents on the mayor's desk like I did just seconds before. Mikha was leader of Team 4 and Malcolm seemed to be friends with him, as well as trust him. These guards, from Mikha's team I assumed, seemed to be friendly and on our side, since they were also looking for evidence.

"We aren't supposed to be in here," the first guard said. "What if that guard on the roof gets suspicious?"

"Didn't you see the band on his arm?" The third guard asked, a little annoyed. "He's part of Malcolm's team. Everyone knows Malcolm has that theory about the mayor being the traitor. He told Mikha and Lily, and now the news is spreading like wildfire." I thought about what that guard said and a thought worried me.

"Does the mayor know about Malcolm's 'theory?'" The one rummaging through the desk asked, which is what I was just thinking.

"I hope not," the third one mumbled. "Malcolm is with the mayor right now."

"Why?"

"I dunno. Maybe he's talking to the mayor to buy us some time?"

"But Malcolm doesn't know we are in here," the second one said in a confused tone.

"What does it matter? As long as the mayor isn't in here, that's good," the third one said and searched a cabinet.

"I just hope Malcolm doesn't do anything stupid," the first one said, opening the drawers of the desk now.

"What do you mean?"

"Like send that kid out to dig up dirt on the mayor," the first guard replied. I figured 'that kid' was me. "You know the mayor doesn't like her. He was the one that said no more people allowed in, but Malcolm and Edith convinced him to let them in."

"Why does the mayor still even have Malcolm as a senior officer," the second one laughed. "I mean, I love Malcolm. I think he's a hell of a soldier. But he pisses the mayor off so much."

"Beats me," the first one sighed and angrily shut the desk drawers. "Nothing so far for me. Any of you find anything?"

"Nope."

"Nada."

The first ones footsteps got closer to me and I saw his shoes right in front of me, just past the vent cover.

"Think he'd hide something in this vent?"

"Might as well check," the third one replied. I held my breath and prayed he wouldn't check, but he kneeled down, took off the cover, and laid flat on his stomach and shouted in surprise once he saw me.

"Ah!"

"What is it?" The second one asked, his footsteps getting closer as well. I nearly screamed as well, but then again, I wasn't as surprised as the guard was.

"Get out of there!" The first one shouted, a little angrily that I startled him. He stood up and backed up so I could crawl out and I did, stretching after I stood up.

"What the fuck were you doing in there?" The third one asked, walking up to us.

"Malcolm sent me in here to look for something, too," I admitted and the first guard rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Well, Malcolm is gonna get you killed."

"I wanted to help," I said, defending Malcolm. "He was against the idea but I convinced him."

"Well, then," the second one laughed. "You got guts, kid. So, Dora the Explora, did you find anything?"

The note was in my jacket pocket, folded in half, but I didn't know if I should show them. Were they to be trusted? Would they believe me if I said I had nothing?

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

[Show them the evidence] (A)

[Dont show them the evidence] (B)


	12. Chapter 12

(Clementine's POV)

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the folded note, along with the other one to compare handwriting.

"I found this," I said, handing the evidence to the first soldier. "in his desk drawer." The soldier unfolded the note and looked at it, his eyes widening.

"Team 1 and 6 are in on it?" He asked angrily and looked to his fellow soldiers.

"I did not expect them to be helping," one of the other soldiers sighed. "Especially Wanda."

"Who's Wanda?" I asked.

"Leader of 6," the first one replied. "Go give this to Malcolm right now." The soldier handed me back the slip of paper.

"The mayor is at our house right now," I said back, telling the soldier that I couldn't go back right away.

"Where does the mayor think you are?"

"At a friend's house," I replied. The soldier looked down, thinking. "What?" I asked.

"Well you have to go somewhere to kill some time," he said. "Follow me," then he turned to the other two soldiers. "Go tell Mikha what we found." He walked out of the office and I followed him out. He headed toward an area that I was unfamiliar with. While Wellington wasn't huge, it was big enough that I hadn't discovered all of what it had to offer yet. He kept walking and I kept following him into a fenced area with crops planted.

"Keith," the soldier said to one of the farmers. A man looked up in attention and looked to the soldier, then came over to us.

"Hey Hank. What's up?" Keith asked.

"Do me a favor and watch her for a little bit. Have her help you pull or plant crops or something. Just give her something to do for an hour."

"Uh..." Keith said, confused. He looked at me. "Ok?"

"Thanks."

The soldier walked away and Keith looked at me, crossing his arms.

"What was that all about?" He asked, nodding towards the soldier walking away.

"Long story," I said, not sure if I should tell Keith about all the conspiracy about the mayor. Keith raised an eyebrow but then turned back around towards the crops. I followed him down the row of crops to a greenhouse about the size of a small house.

"What's your name?" He asked, stopping by a table with lettuce and a bucket.

"Clementine."

"Ah..." He nodded. "You're with Malcolm, right?" I nodded and then he looked to the lettuce. "Ok so what you are going to do is wash off this lettuce. Just pour some of the water from the bucket into one cup at a time, put the lettuce in the strainer, rinse it over this bucket," he said, grabbing another bucket. "and repeat for each leaf. Make sure you get the water from rinsing lettuce back into this bucket. We reuse it by using it for other things afterwards. Put the rinsed lettuce on this plate. Got it?"

"Yeah," I replied. It seemed simple enough. Keith nodded and exited the greenhouse. I carefully filled up one cup with the water from the bucket, put a leaf of lettuce in the strainer, and rinsed it over the other bucket. It was easy and as simple as I expected it to be. I finished in no longer than half an hour and had no idea what to do next. A man with a backpack was coming in my direction and he had a black band on his arm, so I figured he was a guard and would know what I should do.

"Excuse me," I said as he passed me. He stopped and looked to me.

"Yes?" He said with a hint of a southern accent.

"I finished washing the lettuce that one of the farmers told me to. Anything else I could do to help?"

"Funny timing," he chuckled and pointed out the greenhouse door. "I'm just about to leave for a supply run and we're always lookin for kids to train for them." He looked back at me. "Interested in joining the run?"

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

-Go on the supply run- (A)

-Stay behind- (B)


	13. Chapter 13

(Clementine's POV)

"Ok," I said, a little hesitantly. Malcolm wouldn't mind, right?

"Alrighty," the soldier smiled. I followed him out the greenhouse. "I'm Tobin, by the way."

"Clementine," I replied. He nodded.

"So you're the new girl living with Kowalski?"

"Yeah," I said, and realized that just about everyone here knew the new girl Clementine was with Malcolm. "How come everyone just knows that I'm with Malcolm?"

"Oh, it's huge news," he said as if it was obvious. "Usually, new kids don't go with a senior officer and you're housing with Malcolm, the most well known senior officer. You're kinda famous," Tobin laughed.

We walked for a little while longer until we reached the West side of the wall, where all the larger vehicles were stored in a garage. A group of about 15 other adults stood by the large garage door and six teenagers, probably each 15 or 16, were there as well. Tobin lead me over to them and talked to one of the nearby adults.

"Steven, this girl will be joining this supply run."

"Is she even approved? She looks 10," the man that Tobin talked to scoffed.

"She's fresh from outside Wellington. This is Clementine," Tobin said with pride, defending me. The man raised his eyebrows a little, then they returned to their natural scowl.

"Ok..." He said. Tobin left and the man in front of me unholstered a handgun from his hip and handed it to me. "Basic rules: don't run off, don't get eaten, and don't shoot any members of this supply run or you will be shot yourself on sight. Understood?"

"Yes," I said and made sure the gun was on 'safety'. Tobin and two other people pulled up the garage door and it opened, revealing a large room with multiple trucks and vans.

"Team 1 in Vans 1 and 2, Team 2 with me in Van 3 and Truck 3," Tobin shouted with authority. Half of the teens went to Vans 1 and 2 and half went to Van 3 and truck 3. They already had their teams together and I quickly went to Truck 3, as I was close to it and saw Tobin enter the driver's seat of that vehicle. I got in the back seat behind the passenger seat and a teenage boy sat next to me and a teenage girl sat next to him, behind the driver's seat. The boy was tall and well built and looked older than the other teens. He looked 17 or 18. An unfamiliar woman got in the passenger seat and Tobin started the truck.

"Alright everyone. We're headed to a small center of shops about 15 miles away. Our vehicle is in charge of Liam's barber shop and a Petco."

"Zombie dogs?" The teenage boy next to me asked. "No thank you."

"You signed up for this runners program, kid, so don't be complaining," Tobin said firmly. The truck moved forward and we exited another garage door and we were outside of Wellington.

"My cousin Olivia signed me up. I want to be a guard, not some dumb supply runner."

"Dumb?" Tobin chuckled. "I'll tell you what's dumb, boy. That haircut of yours." I slightly looked over at the boys hair, which was short but not very neatly cut or even. "Good thing we're going to that barber shop. What's your name anyway?"

"Tyler," he answered sourly, not amused by Tobin's jab at his haircut.

"Well, Tyler. You gotta stop complaining. There ain't gonna be any zombie dogs. You ever seen any zombie dogs, Clementine? You've been out of Wellington the longest."

"You're Clementine?" The woman in the front asked and I nodded. "You've been outside Wellington for almost 3, wait no...4 years?"

"3," I said, trying to sound modest.

"Ever seen any zombie dogs?" Tobin asked again and I shook my head, thinking of Sam. He was the only dog I've seen since the outbreak. I've seen a few here and there in Wellington, but not many. "See Tyler? No zombie dogs."

"Is it really that bad out there?" The teenager girl asked, looking past Tyler and at me. "I'm. Wellington original, so I've never been out of the wall."

"It's pretty bad," I said, not really knowing what to say or how descriptive to be.

"Pretty bad don't even begin to describe it," Tobin sighed. "I was out of Wellington for only the first year and I've seen some crazy shit."

The teenage girl, whose name is Grace, kept asking about outside Wellington, clearly not familiar with a truly hard life in the overrun world.

"How about we talk about something less depressing?" The woman in the front said after talking about this for almost 10 minutes. We all nodded in agreement and then Tobin shrugged.

"Well, we're here anyway," he said and pulled on the side of a street in this town that we were ordered to search. He pulled over behind Van 3 and we all exited our vehicles. "Everyone, you have your assignments. Meet back at the vehicles in an hour," Tobin shouted to everyone. Our group entered the barber shop first, which was actually pretty big for just a barber shop. It had two floors, not including a basement.

"Kathy," Tobin said, talking to the unfamiliar woman who sat in the passenger seat. "Search the second floor. Check everything for anything useful and fill your bag. Grace and I will check this floor, and Clementine, you and Tyler check the basement."

"Ok..." I said, not really wanting to go down to the basement. Tobin tossed Tyler and I each a flashlight and we reluctantly went down the steps.

"Well, this isn't creepy," Tyler murmured as we entered the basement. It was dark, but not pitch black, and it smelled faintly of a humid pool locker room that I remembered from when I was younger. We clicked on our flashlights and looked around. A few drawers and shelves of shampoo and hair dye were down here, along with a door, most likely leading to a laundry room. Tyler walked over to the shampoo and looked back at me. "Does shampoo expire?"

"No idea," I shrugged and headed to the closed door. Tyler opened a bottle and smelled it and made a weird face.

"That smells funky," he said and looked to me as I put my hand on the knob. "Woah! What the hell are you doing?" He whispered harshly.

"Opening the door?" I whispered back obviously.

"You don't know who or what is behind that door. We gotta do this the military way so we don't die. You can't be so careless," he said quietly, shaking his head.

"Ok, Mr. KnowItAll. What's 'The military way'?"

"You open the door quickly and I aim my gun, checking the inside. Then we both go in and check every side and corner. Got it?"

"Sure, whatever," I said, a little annoyed. I put my hand on the knob and looked to Tyler, who nodded. I quickly whipped the door open and Tyler aimed his gun inside and then lowered it. "It's just a sub-pump room. To prevent flooding," he sighed, sounding disappointed. I rolled my eyes and shut the door.

"Is there anything worth taking back?" I asked, trying to finish up since I really did not like the feeling of this basement. Tyler looked around and shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said and shut off his flashlight. "Let's just head back up."

I followed him up the stairs and we saw Tobin and Grace still looking around.

"Already done?" Tobin asked doubtfully, not looking up from the desk he was searching.

"There wasn't much down there. Just expired shampoo," Tyler answered and Tobin looked over to him.

"So? We could find use for those bottles. Go grab a few, dump out as much shampoo as you can, and we'll stop by the Lake to rinse them out. Clementine, go and help Kathy upstairs."

I went over to the stairs that led to the second floor and saw a few doors leading to different rooms. Three were open and two were closed. I went into the first open door on my right and didn't see Kathy.

"Kathy?" I asked loudly, hoping she would hear me.

"In here," she said back, coming from the other open bedroom door. I pushed the door back so I could enter and saw her looking through a closet and stuffing a suitcase with clothes. "Found this nice suitcase and a bunch of clothes. We'll wash them and they'll be just like new."

"Nice!" I said with happiness, glad that our run wasn't a total bust.

"Mind checking one of the other rooms? I'll finish up in here and then I'll help you in the other room."

"Sure," I answered and exited the room and went to one of the closed, unchecked rooms. I gripped my gun tightly and opened the door to find another bedroom. I swore I heard someone sniffle, as if from crying, and I held my gun even tighter.

"Hello...?" I said slowly and felt something heavy collide with the back of my head.


	14. Chapter 14

(Clementine's POV)

The blow to the back of my head caused me to fall forward and onto the floor. I landed with a hard thud and noticed my vision was blurry and unfocused. I looked towards the door and saw a man pointing a gun at me.

"Who are you?" He asked. Or at least, I think that's what he was asking. His voice was muffled, since a loud ringing noise had taken up most of my hearing. I winced as the back of my head throbbed and put my hand to the back of my head. A warmth filled my hand and, when I pulled it away from my temple, a sticky feeling came with it. I looked at my hand and found it with blood on it from my head. I looked back at the door and saw Tobin, Tyler, and Grace all pointing their weapons at the man who hit my head. They must've heard me fall or him shouting at me.

"Please, don't kill us!" The man shouted, dropping his gun, which had blood on the handle. That's what he hit me with.

"Us?" Tobin repeated, my hearing becoming a little more clear. I thought about the crying I heard and started to get up.

"Stop," I heard Kathy say from behind me. "You probably have a severe concussion, so just stay still until we get one of the other team members here." She looked up to Tobin. "Is Elijah from the other team a doctor?"

"Yeah, Grace and Tyler, go get him. He's at the supermarket," Tobin answered and looked back to the man as Grace and Tyler went to go get me help. "What did you mean by 'us'?"

"My...my son and I," the man answered reluctantly and pointed to the closet.

"We weren't going to hurt you," Tobin said, going over to the closet. I turned to see, but the bed was in the way. I heard Tobin open the closet and walk back over to the man. "We're from Wellington."

"It does exist?" I heard a small voice ask.

"Yeah, but seeing as you just attacked one of my team members," Tobin said to the father and motioning to me. "I think you're a threat."

"Tobin," I said, blinking furiously to regain my full vision. "It's fine." I slowly got up, but Kathy spoke frantically.

"Clementine, stop, really," she said firmly. I ignored her, thinking I was ok to stand up. I got to my feet and took a step forward, but quickly realized my mistake. I felt myself become extremely dizzy and lost consciousness.

-2 hours later-

I woke up and the first thing I realized that my head was bandaged. I opened my eyes and saw two people standing in the room, which I realized was my room. At Malcolm's house. One of the men in the room was Tobin, and the other was unfamiliar. Malcolm wasn't present. Tobin looked at me and nodded to me to the other man. He turned around and walked over to me.

"This is Elijah, Clementine," Tobin told me.

"How're you feeling?" He asked, sitting at the foot of my bed.

"My head really hurts," I said. "And I have a headache."

"Yeah," he said with a pursed lip, feeling sympathetic. "It's gonna be like that for a few days. It's a relatively severe concussion, so all that you can really do is go to bed early, take it easy during the day, drink water and eat a lot, and take some Advil, which Malcolm has downstairs. Any questions?"

"No," I said, and Elijah smiled.

"Ok, feel better, Clementine," he said and exited the room. Tobin looked to me and raised his eyebrows.

"Let's go downstairs so you can eat while lying down," he said and I nodded. I very slowly got up, feeling a little dizzy, but not feeling like I was about to pass out. Tobin walked with me down the stairs and into the kitchen. I felt my blood go cold when I saw Malcolm at the stove, making some kind of soup, it smelled like. Kyle was on the couch and he stood up when he saw me.

"Are you ok?" He asked and I kept my eyes on Malcolm.

"Yeah," I said, feeling nervous. I had no idea what time it was and Malcolm gave me a time to be home by. 5:30, wait, no. 6:00? I couldn't remember clearly. It was probably the concussion. Kyle nodded and looked to Malcolm, who turned from the stove and looked at Tobin and I. Kyle quickly excused himself and went outside, leaving us alone.

"Just one question," Malcolm said as I sat down in a chair at the table, not facing him. "What the fuck were you thinking?!"

"Sir, it's ok. She was with me and-"

"Yeah," Malcolm said. I turned around and he got in Tobin's face. "And I had no idea where the hell she was and she got a severe concussion!"

"But-" Tobin tried to say and Malcolm cut him off again.

"You're excused, Brait," Malcolm said in his firm voice. I assumed Brait was Tobin's last name.

"You're not my senior officer, sir," Tobin said and Malcolm's body turned rigid.

"Excuse me?" He asked. "I said you're excused, and instead of going back to patrol, you can go help Dan shovel the shit out of the barn. And if you don't, I'll have to have a talk with your senior officer, Lily."

I didn't want Tobin to get in trouble, so I made a mental note to talk to Lily about him.

"Sorry, sir," Tobin said quietly and left the house quickly. Malcolm then looked to me and I avoided his glare.

"What time did I asked you to be home?" He asked quietly.

"...I don't remember," I said honestly, I really didn't remember. It was the concussion.

"Yeah, you wanna know why you don't remember? Because you got a concussion. You wanna know how you got that concussion? You went on a fucking supply run without my knowledge and without approval." He stopped and waited, as if he wanted me to say something.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

"You were supposed to be back at 6:30!" He shouted loudly. I've never heard someone so angry. "6:30! It's 11:00! I didn't know where the fuck you were for 2 and a half hours! I only realized you were safe when you carried on by Kathy! When you were unconscious and with a fucking bandage around your head! You disobeyed me, Clementine!"

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

"I'm sorry, Malcolm" (A)

"But I'm safe!" (B)

"You're not my dad!" (C)

-Stay silent- (D)


	15. Chapter 15

(Clementine's POV)

"You're not my dad, Malcolm!" I shouted angrily, feeling my blood flow through my body as I yelled at him. He was acting like he was in charge of me, which he wasn't. I've known him for less than a week and he's already acting like my parent.

He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, opening his mouth a little, seeming like he was in disbelief. "You are in my house, Clementine," he said calmly, but then his voice quickly rose and escalated. "That means I am responsible for you!" He opened his mouth, about to say something else, but stopped. He sighed and closed his eyes, then paced to the sink, put his hand on the counter, leaned forward a little, and looked out the window in front of him. His head faced down, and I saw him breath in deeply again. Neither of us said anything for a few seconds, and I got out of my chair to go to my room.

"I wasn't very open at the restaurant the other day," he said quietly as I was halfway down the hall, headed towards the steps. I stopped, wondering what he meant. "When you asked me where I was from and my story. When I took you out for pizza." I remembered what he was talking about. All he said was where he was from and that he lost some people, being very ominous about all of it. I turned back and went into the kitchen, leaning against the wall, while Malcolm was back to looking out the window, not facing me. "Before all this, I had everything. I had a family. A wife, a woman who was my everything," he said, still quiet. I saw him smile a little and scoff. "Well, she was my everything. Until we had a daughter a year after our marriage. I was 22 when we had her. Melanie. That was her name." He paused again, then continued talking. "I didn't get to see her very often, being in the service and all. I was...so scared. So scared that Zoey, my wife, would be gone when I came back. Scared that she'd get tired of me not being around to help raise Melanie. But..." He smiled a little again and shook his head. "She never left me. Never. That woman was something special, I gotta tell ya. I loved her and Melanie more than anything. They were my entire world." He stopped smiling and looked back down. "I came back from the Philippians one summer, getting a whole month off. A week into my month off, the outbreak started. We left our house, trying to head to Zoey's parents house. A week after the outbreak, I left for a few minutes to go find food at a grocery store..." He stopped once more, and cleared his throat. "And when I came back to the car...Melanie was on the ground. Not crying, not moving...she was dropped by someone and her head broke. There was blood by her little head..." His voice cracked just a little, and he quickly cleared his throat again. "I had no idea what happened. I looked all around for Zoey after getting myself together and found her a few minutes later, propped up against a tree. There was...blood on her pants...and her throat was slashed." He stopped, still not turning back to face me. "She was raped and stabbed and left like garbage. My one year old child was dropped like a rag doll. One week into all of this, and people were already animals." Malcolm shook his head. "I buried both of them together and then just left, fearing that I'd never be able to move on if I hadn't left when I did. Not one day goes by where I don't think 'What would Melanie be like today if there was no outbreak? How old would she be? Would she play a sport already, or like to draw like her mother? What would she be like ten years from now?'" Malcolm finally turned around and looked at me. "I've never forgiven myself for leaving them. When I heard you needed a place to stay when you first got here, I told myself that, if you chose my house, I'd never let myself make the same mistake." He looked down at the floor. "The blood of my own child and wife is already on my hands. If anything...if anything had happened to you today..." He looked back up at me and shook his head. "I would not be able to live with that."

"Malcolm, I..." I started to say, seeing the pain in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"You're right," he said after a few seconds of silence. "I'm not your dad. I'll never be anyone's dad again. I can't ever take that role and risk putting my own child at risk again. But I am in charge of this house. And, if not for your own sake, but for mine, I ask you to please at least tell me before you do anything dangerous or go anywhere outside of Wellington."

"Of course," I said, my voice also quiet. Malcolm stared at the floor, not really looking at anything, but just staring into space. He snapped out of his rigid state and walked forward, heading to a cabinet. He opened it and pulled out a small white bottle. He tossed it to me and I nearly missed catching it, not aware that he was going to toss it to me.

"Take two right now and two tonight with a lot of water," he said, walking past me and heading upstairs. "And eat something," he said from all the way upstairs, his voice faint.


End file.
